


Eyes Up

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: His Dark Materials (TV), His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Genre: And it's cute af, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Pre-Relationship, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Showverse, Will and Lyra start to feel stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:53:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27808654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: Set after 2x04. The next day Will and Lyra come back to The Tower of The Angels to look for a way to treat Will's wound. They find a bunch of other stuff instead and share a rather special moment.
Relationships: Lyra Belacqua & Pantalaimon, Lyra Belacqua & Will Parry, Lyra Belacqua/Will Parry
Comments: 11
Kudos: 100





	Eyes Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Val_Creative](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Val_Creative/gifts).



> Well hello!  
> This is my first ever fic for His Dark Materials so HI to those who don't know me.  
> For those who do - I can guess what you're thinking. You? Writing something else than Titans? A sappy romance at that?  
> Well, hello versitility.  
> Will and Lyra gripped my heart and don't want to let go. I was temped to write something for them for a while now but I thought I should wait till the season is over. I finished reading The Amber Spyglass few days ago and I am still in denial about that ending.  
> But today I started chatting with @Val_Creative on Tumblr and they gave me this great idea I don't wanna spoil here - you'll find it in the fic. We started expanding it (read: throwing ideas at each other, screaming one through the other) and I decided to go with the flow. It turned out longer than I expected but this is how we do it around here.  
> I hope you'll like this one and let me know if I should continue writing for these two.

He was awakened by an unbearable throbbing in his injured hand. At first, Will didn't understand what was happening to him thanks to the sleepiness still muffling his senses, but when a faint metallic smell reached his nose and he noticed a makeshift bandage soaked in blood on his raised hand, the memories began to return.

Mr. Paradisi.

Fight against Tullio in the Tower of The Angels.

His two fingers lying on the dusty wooden floor, cut off by The Subtle Knife.

The knife-

Ignoring the intensified pain in the wound, Will quickly sprang up from his bed and slipped his good hand under the pillow.

There it is - his fingers touched the wooden hilt and then moved further towards the blade hidden in a leather sheath. Will let out a sigh of relief - the knife was safely hidden, along with his father's letters.

The sun was already quite high on the horizon, the approaching afternoon heat could already be felt even in the shaded, narrow streets of Cittàgazze. Other than that, there was complete silence everywhere, and not for the first time Will had to remind himself that's because there were no adults out there. If it weren't for this group of kids who stayed around here, this place would have been completely deserted.

However, what caught his attention the most was that he couldn't hear any sounds from upstairs. It was almost noon, and there was no sign of Lyra or her deamon yet. It's almost like-

Despite the heat in the air, a cold shiver ran down his spine and his lungs contracted unpleasantly, leaving him breathless. The last time Lyra had disappeared for the day, she went to meet a Scholar in his world and by doing that she had given him a good panic attack (not that he will ever tell her). It hadn't turned out well for them back then, so now, without thinking, Will started up the stairs, his heart in his throat.

The feeling of relief when he saw her was unexpected and so overwhelming he had to lean against the wall. Lyra was still asleep, curled up on her bed, with Pantalaimon in the form of a white ermine huddled against her chest. Her shoulders rose and fell slowly with each deep breath, and there was a faint smile on her calm, relaxed face, as if she was having a good dream. Her brown hair shimmered in the morning sun with a palette of autumn colors, from fiery red through honey brown to pure gold reminiscent of an alethiometer casing. One unruly strand fell over her face and twitched slightly against her nose with each breath, making Will feel an overwhelming urge to tuck it behind her ear and…

He froze in place as Pan moved slightly, and only then did Will realize he was staring. He was not caught, however, because the deamon only wrapped its fluffy tail around himself, yawned and continued to sleep.

Will's heart clenched at the sight, because it reminded him of that one moment yesterday when that madman Tullio sent his foot right into Pan's belly, making the poor animal bounce off the wall with a screech. It also affected Lyra, who fell to the ground, groaning and was unable to get up on her feet for a long time. The sight caused him such a wave of anger that he was willing to murder Tullio then and there, push him out of the window and let him fall, as he had done before in his house with that man-

He curled the fingers of his good hand into a fist, then slowly relaxed them, trying to contain his returning anger and ignore the desire sprouting in his chest. The other hand made itself felt again, sending tongues of fire along his entire arm, so Will took a deep breath a few times before turning on his heel and descending the stairs as quietly as possible into the kitchen, letting Lyra sleep as long as she wanted.

* * *

Lyra opened her sleep-heavy eyelids and slowly sat up in bed, yawning. Pantalaimon stretched lazily, rubbing his soft white fur against her hand, then leapt onto her lap.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, tipping his head up to look at her. Lyra rubbed her eyes and nodded.

"I had such a nice dream, Pan." she sighed. "We were in the air balloon with Mr. Scoresby, y'know? Me and you and Will. And we flew over our Oxford and showed them our favorite spots and-"

She was interrupted by the sound of a plate smashed on the floor, and a hiss of pain followed by a bunch of mumbled curses coming from downstairs, but they were the strangest curses Lyra had ever heard, even compared to those she often overheard while playing in the streets of Oxford. She quickly jumped off the bed and along with Pan, who had turned into a red panda, hurried to the kitchen, where they found Will trying to put a freshly made omelette on a plate. Seeing that he could barely hold the frying pan (and with his injured hand at that!), she ran to him already outstretching her arms.

"C'mon, I'll do it." she said, taking the hot object from his hands, making sure not to step on the shards of a previously broken plate scattered on the floor. "Go sit down."

Will pressed his lips into a thin line and lowered his head, nodding.

"Good morning to you, too." he muttered, then sank with a sigh into the nearest chair at the kitchen table. Lyra, meanwhile, filled two plates with scrambled eggs and handed him a portion, then sat down next to him and began eating hers. She wanted to sigh approvingly because Will's eggs are always so delicious, but seeing his depressed expression and tense shoulders, she held back.

Will, feeling she was watching him, looked up and spoke, trying to fill the silence with something.

"You know, we have to come up with something else for breakfast. We're running out of eggs."

They smiled at each other and chuckled softly, breaking the moment's awkwardness. Will went back to eating, but Lyra stared at him for a moment longer, suddenly fascinated by the way the sunlight streaming through the window gave his black curls a navy blue, slightly metallic color. But then Pantalaimon, sitting on her lap, nudged her with his nose and drew her attention wordlessly to his bandaged hand on the table. His entire arm and shoulders were tense from pain, and it was easy for Lyra to read from his face how much he was trying to hide that he was suffering.

"How's your hand?" She asked hesitantly.

Will tensed even harder and swallowed.

"Fine."

Her heart almost broke. He tried to be strong even when he didn't have to. Was he doing it for her sake? Because he had promised her last night that they would try to get back the alethiometer together?

"It doesn't look like it." she pointed out. "Will, I can see that you are in pain… Can I- Will you let me see it? I guess you're going to need to change the dressing?"

Will turned his head away and inhaled through his nose as he hid his hand under the table. Lyra could only guess what was on his mind, but it must have been a feeling of powerlessness. He told her that he had been caring for his mother for some time. He was the caretaker, so he probably hated that he was the one who needed to be looked after now.

She held out her hand to him, but hesitated. He still didn't look at her, he even stopped eating. His eyes were fixed on the floor. Lyra wanted to back off, but then she crossed her gaze with her deamon and he nodded to encourage her. So she put her fingers on her friend's arm and squeezed it gently.

"Will, please." she whispered pleading, feeling her throat tighten with sadness.

He looked at her and his eyes softened. She hoped he hadn't noticed the tears that she was trying to hold back at the moment. He breathed in, and her hand fell down along with his shoulders, then he slowly and carefully rested his injured hand on the table again, giving her easy access.

She smiled gratefully at him and began her inspection. The bandage was dirty and soaked through, but the blood was not flowing abundantly enough to be life-threatening. Both her and Pan breathed out a sigh of relief - for now it was enough to only change the dressing for a clean one, which Lyra immediately started doing. She jumped to her feet and searched the cupboards until she found a clean linen towel, which she cut into strips with help of a kitchen knife, then washed the wounds as gently as she could and tied the towel tightly around Will's fingers, throwing the used bandage into the bin.

"Thank you." he said, watching her work from up close.

Lyra finished eating her omelette.

"Y'know?" she began between bites. "I think we should go back there. To the Tower. Since every bearer of the knife must have lost their fingers, maybe in all these books we can find some way to heal the wound. Maybe there will even be some medicine!"

Will nodded approvingly.

"Yes, you're right. Maybe Mr. Paradisi had something for…"

He paused and lowered his head, feeling sad again. Lyra sighed deeply.

"Will, that was his choice."

"I know." He said. "My only regret is that he didn't let us protect him a little longer. Maybe I could learn more from him."

They fell silent, both mourning and reflecting. They didn't know the man very long, but they liked him very much. Lyra placed a hand on her deamon's back as he curled against her belly. Her other hand, as if on its own accord, moved closer to Will's, hanging freely by his side. Pan, from his position on Lyra's lap, watched closely as their pinky fingers lightly touched each other, then slowly hooked one over another and after a while Will's hand slid into Lyra's and entwined her fingers with his. They lasted like this for a few moments, without saying anything or looking at each other, but only by touch indicating that they were not alone in their sorrow. Taking another deep breath, Lyra gave Will's hand one last gentle squeeze, then got up and started cleaning up after breakfast, trying not to think about how warm and soothing his touch was and how much she didn't want to let go.

"If we're going to go there, we'd better do it now." she said, putting the plates in the sink. Will cleared his throat and got up from the table.

"Okay, well, I… uh, I'll go get my backpack."

She had her back to him while she washed the dishes, so she couldn't see how quickly Will scuttled upstairs, and she had no idea how fast his heart was beating when he held her hand in his a moment earlier.

* * *

They didn't dare to climb up to the very top. Of one thing they were sure - Giacomo Paradisi was dead. And the dead shouldn't be disturbed.

So they searched through the books left on the main altar. Will studied all the drawings and diagrams carefully, trying to remember as much as possible, but neither he nor Lyra could read the text because it was written in an unfamiliar language, somewhat reminiscent of a combination of Spanish and Latin. Then they decided to split up and search the room.

"Will! Lyra! Look!" Pantalaimon's puzzled voice reached them, echoing off the tower walls. The owl-bodied deamon sat on the handle of one of the lamps at the side of the altar, flapping its wings. Will was closer, so he was the first to notice what he meant.

On the right side of the altar, hidden behind a column were stairs leading down, as if to a basement. The staircase wasn't very deep and there were double wooden doors at its end.

Lyra stepped closer, and Pan flew to her shoulder.

"Pan… Do you think this door leads to the place you saw yesterday through the bars in the floor?"

"Possible." the bird replied. "Hopefully it's not another crypt."

Lyra slowly set her foot on the first step and after a while began to descend.

"Be careful." came out of Will's mouth before he could stop himself. Both the girl and her deamon turned their heads towards him, and their complete synchronicity and identical expressions (as far as he could tell from the owl) caught him off guard for a moment.

"We don't know what might be behind that door." he stuttered finally.

Lyra gave him that beaming smile of hers which made Will's knees go weak.

"Relax, you know I can fight." she said. "Besides - you've got the Knife. You'll protect me."

And she started walking down the stairs, leaving a dumbfounded Will at the top.

_You'll protect me._

He had no idea why the words had such an effect on him, but suddenly he found himself smiling like some idiot.

Her voice reached him again.

"Gosh, Will! You won't believe what's in here!"

So he quickly ran down the stairs and burst through the open door into what turned out to be a huge vault.

Lyra stood in the center and looked around while Pan in the form of a butterfly flew over her head.

"Amazing, isn't it?" she whispered, but the acoustics of the place carried her voice to all corners, and Will heard her as clearly as if she were standing right next to him. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It was a nice feeling though.

He went in deeper, looking around. There were lots of items piled up rather randomly. He could see them quite clearly - the room, despite being underground, was well lit thanks to the grilles in the ceiling. The same ones Pan stuck his head through to peak in here yesterday.

"I guess the Guild has gathered it all from other worlds over the years." Will wondered aloud. Some objects he saw for the first time in his life, others he recognized, even if they were slightly different from those he knew. There were baskets full of fabrics and clothes, piles of fluffy carpets, tableware, candlesticks, all sorts of appliances… it was impossible to wrap your mind around it. It was just too much.

Lyra began going through the baskets of clothes, trying some blouses or dresses on her and looking at the large mirror standing next to her. She was currently holding a long blue gown made from smooth, shiny material, and seeing her reflection Will couldn't deny that it would have looked beautiful on her. The dress was a little too big, but that didn't change anything. Blue was her color.

Lyra set her gown aside, and Will's attention was drawn to a device to his right, partially hidden by a painting. Will pushed it away with his hand and smiled at the thing that for sure must have come from his world - the gramophone. It was quite old, it must have been from the 1950s or 1960s, but it was in perfect condition. The housing made of polished wood, after wiping it off the dust, sparkled in the sun rays, and the large tube resembling a bell flower was still in its place.

"Lyra!" he called. "I found something from my world!"

They ran up to him with Pan and looked over his shoulder. Will smiled at them and pointed his finger at the device.

"This is a gramophone-"

"Oh my, a phonograph!" Lyra breathed out in surprise at the same moment. Will frowned.

"What?"

"A phonograph." she repeated. "We have these too. Scholars at Jordan's College used one to play music during my dance lessons."

Will's head shot up, staring at her.

"You? In dance lessons?"

She shrugged.

"What? It was my father's idea. He taught me himself when I was little, but later…" She broke off, her smile fading. Her eyes grew misty and she turned her head to hide the sudden rush of tears, while Pan squealed softly next to her leg. Will then remembered her telling him in the movie theater that her best friend had been killed by her own father. It must have hurt her to think about him.

He felt a stab in his chest. He didn't want to cause her pain, that wasn't what he meant. So he decided to distract her.

"Somehow I don't quite believe that you studied formal ballroom dancing."

It worked. Lyra's gaze returned to him, determination in her eyes.

"It's true!"

"Oh, you should have seen her…" added her deamon, with a hint of playful amusement in his voice.

"Just because I didn't like them doesn't mean I didn't learn anything!" Lyra continued, ignoring that comment.

Will chuckled.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Alright!" Lyra pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, and Will soon realized she was serious.

"For real?"

"For real! Is this thing turned on? How does it work?"

Only then did Will realize that he didn't actually know how it worked. He leaned over the gramophone, looking for some kind of switch.

"Well, there should be a big black record and-"

"Like this one?"

He turned to see Lyra holding round vinyl in her hands, and Pantalaimon sitting in a box filled to the brim with them.

Will nodded.

"Yes, just that-"

"Wait- I know!" she cut in on his word and pushed past him. "I think I know how to turn it on. Ours worked similarly."

She easily mounted the disc on the dial and put the needle on it. He didn't know how, but the record began to spin and sounds began to come out from the tube - a slight creaking noise that turned into music. They heard piano notes and a saxophone in the background.

Will blushed, ashamed that he didn't know it despite it being an instrument of his world, but at the same time admiring Lyra's knowledge and cleverness.

He blushed even more when she held out her hand to him. He looked at her in surprise.

"What? I can't do this alone. I need a partner!"

"But I don't-"

She didn't let him finish because she was already holding his wrist in a firm grip and pulling him to the center of the room.

Finally they stopped and Lyra turned to him, standing close. Very, _very_ close.

"Okay. If I remember correctly, your right hand goes to my waist and your left hand goes in my hand, yeah."

Saying this, she gently took his injured hand and put it in the right place, and she did the same with the other. All this time Will had been painfully aware of her every touch, her closeness, her warm breath blowing around his neck. And at the same time he couldn't take his eyes off her. He felt hypnotized.

"Now how was it…" she muttered to herself, staring at her feet. "Oh, I know! We start with right leg forward, left leg to the side…"

They started moving at the same moment and awkwardly bumped into each other. After mumbling an apology, they both smiled.

"Um, Will…" Lyra began hesitantly. "You must lead this dance."

His eyebrows went right up to his hairline.

"Me? But…" he stuttered but then sighed and shrugged. "You know what? You're a professional here, I'll do whatever you want me to do."

This time she was the one who blushed. She lowered her head, trying to cover her face with her hair, but he noticed anyway. He didn't know why she had such a reaction, he didn't say anything special after all, but he smiled because she looked unbelievably cute (and how could he know that it was the first time someone had told her something like that and how much it meant to her?)

"Well then… Right forward, left to the side, right? Then what?"

"Yes! Exactly-" Lyra cleared her throat and looked up at him. Her voice took a matter-of-fact tone. "You take the steps, I follow you. Try it."

He moved as instructed, and she moved smoothly with him as if they were one body.

"Easy!" Will said. "What now?"

"Now…" she began, but it was Pantalaimon, sitting on her shoulder as a butterfly, who finished for her.

"Now put your legs together and then put your left leg backwards and right one to the side."

"Exactly. And put your legs together again at the end."

They did it a bit awkwardly and out of tune with the music at first, but they did it together and they didn't get it wrong. They smiled triumphantly to each other.

"Great!" Lyra exclaimed. "Now we have to repeat everything."

So they started again and after a few tries they got into an easy rhythm. Meanwhile, another song started coming out of the device and Will's heart skipped a beat at the familiar tunes. _At Last_ by Etta James was playing. He recognized it because his mom liked to sing it a lot when he was little, before her problems started.

He looked at his feet to watch his steps and listened to the words.

_At last_

_My love has come along_

_My lonely days are over_

_And life is like a song._

_At last_

_The skies above are blue_

_My heart was wrapped up in clover_

_The night I looked at you._

_I found a dream that I could speak to,_

_A dream that I can call my own._

_I found a thrill to press my cheek to_

_A thrill that I have never known._

_Oh, you smiled. . ._

_You smiled and then the spell was cast_

_Now here we are in heaven_

_For you are mine at last._

During this time, Lyra followed their steps as well, but her mind was lost in a memory, one of her earliest.

She's about three years old. Lord Asriel's private sitting room at Jordan College is warm and a little dark - the only light coming from the fireplace - but very pleasant. Stelmaria, the snow leopard and her father's deamon, lies on the carpet and warms up by the burning sheets of wood. And Lyra, together with her father (although she had known him as her uncle at the time) dance in the middle of the room to the music coming from the phonograph. Lyra is tiny, but she stands bravely on the man's shoes, holding his hands and follows his steps with devout curiosity.

"See how easy it is, Lyra?" Lord Asriel asks softly. Lyra hears the smile in his voice, but she doesn't look at him, too busy watching his steps. "And one, two, three… one, two, three… eyes up, love!"

"Eyes up." Lyra whispered in the present, her father's words still ringing in her ears.

"What?" Will asked, not taking his eyes off his feet as well.

Lyra hesitated, but the gentle flutter of Pantalaimon's butterfly wings against her ear gave her courage. So she took her hand off Will's shoulder and cupped his chin in her fingers, lifting it slightly.

"Eyes up." she said again, louder this time, and smiled.

At the sight of that smile, Will forgot about the world around them. He forgot about the specters, the knife heavy at his belt, the bleeding hand that was missing two fingers, and the dull pain it caused. There was only Lyra. Her sweet smile. The honey scent of her hair. The warmth of her body. The deep brown of her eyes.

Instinctively he pulled her closer, and she shifted her hands to wrap them around his neck. They no longer needed to look at their feet, footsteps became natural to them. So they swirled around the hall, among the treasures from countless worlds, staring into each other's eyes and nothing else.

A lock of hair fell over her face, and this time Will couldn't resist raising his good hand and putting it behind her ear with a slow movement, his fingertips stroking her cheek. Lyra looked into his eyes all this time, as if she wasn't blinking or breathing at all. Chest to chest, their hearts were beating so madly that they could no longer recognize which was which.

They were so fascinated by each other that they didn't notice an overturned coat rack and suddenly tripped over it. Lyra lost her balance first and pulled Will with her. He barely had time to turn them to cushion her fall before they landed together on a pile of fluffy carpets, driving a cloud of dust into the air. But they didn't care.

Will fell on his back and Lyra landed on his chest. They were both laughing furiously and while he was still holding her in his arms, he felt their bodies shake from it together. Then Lyra lifted her head and looked at him, and then everything went quiet again.

It was just her and him. The music had long stopped playing, but they didn't notice. The ends of her hair brushed his cheeks. Their deep breaths merged into one. Lyra glanced at his lips. He looked at hers. She leaned in and he raised his head-

The sound of rapid footsteps reached them through the grates in the ceiling, making them jump away from each other in a flash, ready for a possible attack. Will drew out his knife.

Pantalaimon flew up as far as he could without straining his bond with Lyra, and looked outside.

"It's the kids. Five of them. They're running nearby." he announced, then sat down on Lyra's shoulder again and, already in the form of a white ermine, slipped into her embrace.

"Angelica?" she asked, pressing him to her chest.

"I didn't see her."

"You think they heard us? The music?"

"I don't know."

"We'd better go." Will declared, sheathing the knife. "We need to plan how to retrieve the alethiometer."

Lyra looked at him for a long moment, then nodded.

"Right. Let's go."

Together, hand in hand, they walked towards the exit.

**Author's Note:**

> So, how did you like it? Let me know! Kudos and comments as always appreciated. Make sure to check out my other works and if you wanna say hi you can find me on Tumblr @not-so-mundane-after-all-97  
> SEE YA!


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